He was wearing a jersey, but he might as well have been in street clothes. Sporting a brace to protect his injured right thumb, the sophomore guard could do nothing but watch as the Spartans smothered the Golden Eagles on defense, and bullied them on offense.,”Jerel McNeal can still remember how it felt, sitting on the bench during Marquette's 61-49 loss to Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season.

He was wearing a jersey, but he might as well have been in street clothes. Sporting a brace to protect his injured right thumb, the sophomore guard could do nothing but watch as the Spartans smothered the Golden Eagles on defense and bullied them on offense.

"It's a bad feeling to work so hard just to get yourself into the NCAA tournament and get a seed in the Big East tournament and not be able to play the game," McNeal said. "Just to have to sit there and watch your team out there without you.

"I got a chance last year to miss the most important part of the season. It was a tough time for me."

And while the NCAA tournament loss may have ended Marquette's season, it was obvious the Golden Eagles missed McNeal's physical presence much earlier than that.

Sure, there was the obligatory circling of the wagons when he injured his thumb before Marquette's regular season-ending game against Pittsburgh – the Golden Eagles won that game 75-71 and beat St. John's 76-67 in the first round of the Big East Tournament – but that wouldn't last forever.

That same Pittsburgh team that lost two regular season games to Marquette sliced through the Golden Eagle defense in the second round of the Big East tournament. Five Panthers scored in double digits en route to an 89-79 win. And, of course, there was that game against Michigan State.

"I don't think at the end of the year we played with a great physical sense," said head coach Tom Crean. "We weren't wimpy, it wasn't that we weren't tough. It was that we weren't as physical as we needed to be, as a whole, defensively.

"It's a whole different deal (without McNeal). You aren't going to find many people with a better mental toughness or a tougher exterior on the floor than Jerel McNeal."

By virtue of his class, McNeal has been almost inescapably tied to fellow juniors Wesley Matthews and Dominic James. But while each is capable of producing a dominant offensive performance, McNeal has managed to distance himself from the other two-thirds of the "big three" in one aspect – defense.

While averaging 14.7 points per game last season – second only to James' 14.9 – McNeal led the team in steals with 76 and was third in blocks with 16. McNeal also led the team in turnovers with 118, an aspect of his game Crean said needs to improve.

But perhaps most important is the effect his teammates say McNeal's presence has on opposing offenses.

"He brings an edge (to the defense), a chip," Matthews said. "People carry chips; he carries a boulder on his shoulder. I don't know about what, but it helps.

"We feed off of it, myself and Dominic especially. When he went out, it hurt not to have a player of his magnitude or of his presence on the court."

That physical presence was lacking as Marquette went 2-2 in McNeal's absence to close the season. He was whistled for 102 fouls last season, the most on the team despite the fact he played in only 29 of 34 games.

"When we're backed into a corner, or if I get into some trouble some night, I hope (McNeal) is right there with me because I like my chances with him," Crean said. "Everyone would want him with them in a street fight."

Freshman Scott Christopherson said he looks to experienced players like McNeal for guidance off the court as well.

"There are a lot of guys who you could talk to about different things that will help you out," he said. "They are the leaders of this team, they do a great job of coming out every day to practice and giving everything they've got."

McNeal acknowledged he hears about his role as an intimidating presence often, but he is still not a vocal leader on this Marquette squad. If he's filling a leadership role for Marquette, it is purely a result of his play on the court.

"I hear (about presence) a lot, but it's one of those things where I just come in here night-in and night-out and try to make this team better," he said. "I'm not thinking, 'Hey, I gotta be this or that for this team,' it's just about me coming out and trying to win games, trying to make sure my guy isn't the one hurting us."

More often than not, McNeal's "guy" is the one struggling against the Golden Eagles. McNeal was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year last season and led the team in steals his freshman season with 64.

"I'm going to try to do my part and shut the guy I'm guarding down, try to help the team defensively," he said. "We're going to try and get some turnovers, get some quick shots and run with it."

The sometimes subtle impact that McNeal has on the Golden Eagles was on display during Marquette's 83-55 exhibition win over Northern State on Sunday.

With the Golden Eagles trudging through the opening 10 minutes of the game tied 12-12, McNeal leaped to alter the shot of a Northern State guard. Sophomore Lazar Hayward picked up the resulting loose ball and fired it to Maurice Acker, who was streaking down the center of the court for an easy lay-up. Marquette led 14-12 and never trailed again.

"I'll always do my part defensively, because that is when this team is at its best," McNeal said. "It's one of those things where this defense is going to have to carry this team this year."

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